The Cross and the Switchblade essays

The Cross and the Switchblade essays The book I am writing about is The Cross and the Switchblade written by The Reverend David Wilkerson. It is a true story about an inexperienced country preachers vision to help teenage boys who are in trouble. The story starts when the reverend reads an article in Life Magazine about seven teenage boys on trial for the brutal murder of teenage polio victim named Michael Farmer. The reverend cried over the article and pictures, and then he was overtaken by a call from God to go help those boys in New York. He has a hard time dealing with his calling but finally reveals it to his wife and then the church congregation. He reluctantly gets support from the church and takes the youth director with him. Together they traveled 350 miles from Pennsylvania to a New York court house to try to visit the boys on trial. They are kicked out of the court house by the police. This gains them respect by the gangs on the streets. Then for the next two years he makes weekly trips to New York. S lowly but surely he builds a good relationship with different street gangs. During those two years he gains support spiritually and financially from several different types of supporters. He builds a center in New York to save teenagers from drugs and crime. All lead through prayer. This story starts in 1958 and was last printed in 1967 but it does not end there. Today there are centers in several cities in probably every state; they are the Teen Challenge Centers. It is a Christian ministry that has restored hope to tens of thousands of teens. Reverend David Wilkerson described him self as others saw him, a Bible waving country preacher with his hair standing up on his head. He was a man of average height with a slender build and brown hair. The reverend is a helper to everyone he meets. He knows that he is a steward of God doing only what he has prayerfully considered and knows is God directed. He ha ...